Adamson University passed the first test of its second round of eliminations with a rousing 4-1 comeback victory over University of the Philippines on Saturday at the UP Baseball Field.
The Lady Falcons, who are seeking their 11th consecutive tiara, remained unbeaten in five outings.
On the other hand, the Fighting Maroons suffered their third loss against three wins.
And for the reigning champions, it all boiled down to an early fightback after going down 0-1.
MJ Maguad forced an early error on UP shortstop Aila Subaldo to get on base to start a two-out rally.
After Alaiza Talisik sent a fly ball to Martine Francisco, three hits from Rem Herrero, Roma Cruz, and Nemay Mahinay drove in two runs for the San Marcelino-based side to snag the lead for good.
The squad then added two more insurance runs in the second and sixth innings.
“After nung game namin against UP last week, happy ako na nag-work lahat nung adjustments namin nung training for the whole week today. One step closer sa goal namin, which is ‘yung makapasok sa Top Two,” said Adamson head coach Ana Santiago.
“Pero hindi pa tapos, need pa namin ng dalawang panalo.”
Cruz and Mahinay both finished with two hits on three at-bats to pace the Lady Falcons’ offense, with the former getting two runs batted in in that first-inning turnaround with Maguad and Herrero.
On the other hand, Ateneo broke through with a first win in the season with a similar 4-1 come-from-behind win.
The Blue Eagles scored one run in the second inning to level the game courtesy of Kyle Mejlliano. Then they sent Noelle Franco and Martina Nacion home in the next two innings for the 3-1 lead.
Danielle Tuprio put on the finishing touches in the debut win with an inside-the-park home run smacked at the middle of the field.
De La Salle and Ateneo are now tied at 1-5 for fourth to fifth places.
The Lines:
UP 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 – 1 5 1
AdU 2 1 0 0 0 1 x – 4 10 1
Ateneo 0 1 1 1 0 0 1 – 4 10 1
DLSU 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 – 1 5 1
